Attempting to make good on its "all of the above" energy strategy, the Obama administration recently floated proposals for oil development that have infuriated members of Congress on both coasts, but for very different reasons.

Even though Obama wants climate action to be one of his presidency's chief legacies, he's not yet ready to base his policies on what actually needs to be done. In this case, he has taken two big steps forward with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and then followed up with an ill-advised step backward on offshore drilling.

The same tug-of-war between development and preservation that led to the passage of the Wilderness Act exists to this day. Every generation of Americans faces moments when we must choose between the pressures of the now and the hopes for the future.

Fifty years ago, the battle to create the magnificent Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in far northeastern Alaska inspired Congress to approve America's Wilderness Act, the law that has since protected millions of acres of some of our nation's most iconic and cherished wild places. The Arctic Refuge is, simply put, astonishing.

Only about 210 million acres of true wilderness remain in America. Roughly half of those have been protected under the Wilderness Act, but the rest remain vulnerable to the pressures of mining, logging, and especially energy development.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline was built more than 30 years ago, and at one time we were getting more than 2 million barrels a day out of it. Now that number has fallen almost 75 percent to about half a million barrels a day.

The last two weeks I spent in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with four other military veterans and two volunteer guides from the Sierra Club. The weather was colder, and snowier, than any trip in the 30+ years of combined experience from both guides.

In June, President Obama said, "we can't just drill our way out of the energy and climate challenge that we face." I am hopeful that the president will heed his own advice, and keep our Arctic Ocean safe from dirty and dangerous oil drilling.

No $50 million offer can undo more than 50 years of conservation history. We thank Secretary Jewell and the Interior Department for rejecting the Parnell proposal and upholding the Obama administration's commitment to keep drilling in the Refuge "off the table."

Stories of climate change however, come to us, one at a time, or a few might overlap, but rarely do we get a comprehensive look at once. If you live in New England, or visiting there this summer, you'll have an opportunity to see--varieties of climate change impacts from around the world.

We agree and are hoping for a bit more to celebrate by the time the year is over when Secretary Salazar recommends Wilderness for the Coastal Plain of the Refuge -- to recognize that the Arctic Refuge should be protected as one of our greatest treasures, as Americans want it to be.

There are many good reasons for speeding the development of renewable sources of energy, not the least of which is the threat posed by accelerating climate change. But a look at these threatened habitats might provide another good reason to hasten the introduction of alternatives.